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 * European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's comments on
Thursday suggesting that the bank could ease its monetary policy in
its meeting in March also encouraged investors.
* Crude prices, under pressure from a global glut, were up 5 percent
as the cold wave boosted short-term demand and traders cashed in
their short positions. [O/R]
* Oil prices rebounded on Thursday, helping to push U.S. stocks
higher. The Nasdaq closed in positive territory for only the third
day this year, but only by 0.01 percent.
* However, concerns about crude over supply and a tepid demand
outlook beyond the winter remain. Rating agency Moody's put 120
energy firms across the world on review for downgrades.
* The U.S. stock market has failed to sustain any rallies this year
as risk-averse investors search for signs of stability. The S&P 500
is down 8.6 percent in 2016, having closed higher on only six of the
13 sessions.
* All eyes are also on the U.S. Federal Reserve, with expectations
rife of the central bank slowing the pace of further rate hikes as
it accounts for a weak global economy and inflation remains well
below its 2 percent target.
* U.S. economic data on Friday is expected to show that existing
home sales rose nearly 9 percent in December compared with a 10.5
percent fall in November. The report is due at 10:00 a.m. ET (1500
GMT).
* Fourth-quarter earnings reports are likely to offer little cheer,
with S&P 500 companies on average expected to post a 4.5 percent
decline in profit, according to Thomson Reuters data.
* Shares of General Electric were down 1.5 percent at $28.15
premarket after the company's quarterly profit fell 8 percent.
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* American Express was down 4.1 percent at $60.10, while Starbucks
fell 3.4 percent to $57, after the companies issued disappointing
earnings forecasts.
* Schlumberger was up 2.5 percent at $63 after the world's biggest
oilfield services company reported better-than-expected profit and
set a $10 billion buyback program.
Futures snapshot at 7:00 a.m. ET:
* Dow e-minis were up 204 points, or 1.29 percent, with 53,597
contracts changing hands.
* S&P 500 e-minis were up 26.25 points, or 1.41 percent, with
283,329 contracts traded.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 72.5 points, or 1.76 percent, on volume
of 57,065 contracts.
(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb
Chakrabarty)
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